Category Archives: Website Spotlight

I am so excited to introduce you to the owners of RI-STOR Goods, Evan and Elizabeth Mayfield. RI-STOR is a lamp/design shop in Los Angeles, California that I happened to find on Instagram. I immediately became smitten with their lamp designs because of the unique use of material, vision, and the overall aesthetic of their product.

Over time I found myself loving their designs and wishing one day to actually own one of Evan and Elizabeth Mayfield’s lamps to place in my home. First I would like to introduce you to their designs by showing you a photo of their work.

METROHM PH SCALE SWITZERLAND (Photo Courtesy of RI-STOR Goods)

RUSTO’ DRAGON LAMP (Photo Courtesy of RI-STOR Goods)

More photos to come, but first I would like to share the interview that Evan Mayfield agreed to do with me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed digging into the mind of someone with his vision and talent!!

Cherie: I am curious about your love of analog equipment, what makes analog so attractive to you?

Evan@RI-STOR: Well I think it’s less about the analog and more about the quality of design. Back in the day they really had an eye for appealing design, and really made that come alive in the products that they manufactured. When I first came across some of my first analog equipment, I thought they really were works of art. And I began to realize that most of them were ending up in trash heaps and not being utilized. That’s when I got the idea to preserve these small works of art by up cycling them and making them functional again.

Cherie@AccessoireBlog:What has been your favorite find?

Evan@RI-STOR: I don’t know that we can say that we have a favorite find. Each and every time, it’s so exciting to go out and look for these items. So I would have to say every time we go out and find some pieces, those are our new favorite find!

Cherie@AccessoireBlog: Do you ever think that you were limiting yourself to just the “hipster” audience or a younger genre? Maybe even just people of a certain “artist” vision? (I mean I know as a jewelry artist that sometimes I start to get worried that maybe I need to follow a certain trend in jewelry, and then I get my focus back on what my vision is and my focus back on what I do best.)

Evan@RI-STOR: That’s a good question. I don’t think we were ever concerned about mass appeal when we’re designing these lamps. I think we’re just designing with our own aesthetic in mind, and making what we really like. I feel like if you stay true to what you like, then it’s going to come across in your artwork, and the work will be better for it. But, to really answer your question, we have a lot of interest from all different age groups. Men and women, young and old, enjoy our product.

Cherie@AccessoireBlog: Is that how you feel when you are making a piece for your shop?

Evan@RI-STOR: No, I don’t really feel that way. I have made artwork in the past that was catered towards a particular demographic or style. And honestly there is no longevity in it because at the end of the day I didn’t care. It wasn’t something that I like, it was something that I thought would appeal to others. So thankfully I stayed away from feeling like I need to build something for someone else. All of these lamps are pieces that we would put in our home. (And often do for a short time!)

Cherie@AccessoireBlog: But being in LA, which such a crossroads of taste, who is your average customer? I see that you have sold to the entertainment industry, right?

Evan@RI-STOR: I would say that our average customer is young successful men between the ages of 18 and 40. And yes, we do happen to sell a lot of our lamps to individuals in the entertainment industry. For whatever reason, we have had quite a few celebrity sales, and I think that’s because our pieces are just so unique. Celebrities really enjoy having something that is one-of-a-kind, that they can show off and not feel like the rest of the population has. It is a choice we are making by not mass producing our product. We have less of a chance to make a lot of money, but we are more proud of our product as each one is handmade and unique. That is more important than money.

Cherie@AccessoireBlog: Who again have you sold your great pieces too?

Evan@RI-STOR: We have had the privilege of selling to Mr. Patrick Warburton, Ian Hulquist from Passion Pit, and Zooey Deschanel’s father Caleb Deschanel. It is cool knowing that the cinematographer from the movie The Patriot and The Passion of the Christ has one of our lamps. Being in and around the movie industry, I’m sure we have sold a few more. But we cannot say for sure.

Cherie@AccessoireBlog: Do people share with you often why they are buying a particular piece? Can you share a story without revealing the person?

Evan: Well, some of my favorite pieces that we have designed to date went to a very cool company downtown LA. They used the pieces to decorate their office space, and told us that they wanted something to catch customers eyes when they came in. So, I know that there are in a good place and many people are enjoying them every day.

Cherie@AccessoireBlog: Where do you see this business going in say five years?

Evan@RI-STOR: Five years! Ha, there’s no way of telling. But I feel like it is it a dream of ours to open our own brick and mortar. We would love to have a store where we could feature our own items and interact with our customers daily. Because that is really what it is all about. People interacting with people. And so we love getting to know our customers, and telling them the stories behind each individual lamp.

Cherie@AccessoireBlog: How would you describe the current trend of home decorating at the moment?

Evan@RI-STOR: Well current trend is kind of interesting. I feel like in the past couple of years there’s been a resurgence of up-cycle design. Especially here in LA there are a lot of companies up cycling their product, because we are a very eco-conscious city. So at least from that standpoint, I think that we are in a good spot. Many people also are realizing the design aesthetic of old, and the quality of the build. There are so many different styles of home decorating out there, it’s hard to really nail down. But we definitely do think that repurposing items in design is in!

Cherie@AccessoireBlog: Speaking of decorating or style, some people flow with the trends, and some people are true to one style all their lives… how about you?

Evan@RI-STOR: Elizabeth and I have stayed fairly consistent in our design choices. We really like the eclectic items that we have in our home. I wouldn’t say that we could really put ourselves in any particular category, but we really do enjoy repurposed materials. We have a lot of handmade items that we have made ourselves or painted in our home, and we feel like that brings a personal homey element to the place to our nest. We do not own a home of our own, so we feel like once that happens we’re going to go crazy! We will be designing and building all kinds of interesting things to fill our home with, and that just hasn’t happened yet. So I feel like we’ve been really mild with our decorating choices as of yet. But, we have been consistent!

Cherie@AccessoireBlog: Especially in architecture you find this to be true, what would be your favorite design them?

Evan@RI-STOR: Oh, it’s kind of hard to comment on architecture. Elizabeth is from the West Coast, and I am from the East Coast. The architecture style varies so much in the different corners of the country that it is hard to say what WE like. I think she and I can both agree that Frank Lloyd Wright is pretty awesome.

Cherie@AccessoireBlog: And finally, you just made the wonderful and compelling piece called coda, which is a true work of art. How did you decide to use and old projector and then turn it into a piece like coda?

Evan@RI-STOR: The lamp entitled coda is very different in many ways. I built this piece without getting much feedback from my wife, Elizabeth. It was a growing experience trying to build something from scratch. Using a bunch of different elements from around my garage to pull together one design that made sense. There was a lot of fabrication involved, and it was really a process of trial and error. I have designed something one paper that I wanted to bring to life, but when I built that thing it didn’t look as great as it did when I had originally drawn it. So there was a process of building up and tearing down that resulted in the final product that we call coda. I don’t know that anybody will ever buy that piece, and that’s okay with me. This definitely was something that I was building for myself. I knew I was limiting myself by building something so specific and potentially unappealing to many clients, but like I said before. This one was for me. It was a personal project. I wanted to have one lamp that said, “This is what I am about. Design, invention, playing with pieces and parts to make some sort of Frankenstein. I wanted one of those builds.”

Coda (photo credit: RI-STOR)

Some of the lamps and the Downtown LA Bubblemaker that RI-STOR has created!! (Photo Credit: RI-STOR)

**Please note that you can also find several of RI-STOR Goods products at Cisco Home at 8025 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, Ca 90046. The Downtown LA BubbleMaker is currently on display there now as are other pieces.

Ri-Store Goods lamps showing up in the Cisco Home showroom!

I think that Evan and Elizabeth are truly creating works of art and I love the idea that they are making something unique and one-of-a-kind with materials otherwise headed for a landfill. I truly appreciate the workmanship that has gone into each and every piece that they have created! I hope you do too!

It is my hope that you support this talented couple in their endeavors. Much peace to all this week and happy creating as always.

I say this every time I find a new shop that delights my eye and senses, “I am in love!” This time I mean, I really do! I am swooning… lusting… staring… hitting the heart doohickey!! I am like a lovesick teenager.♥♥♥

This shop has photography ranging from street, animal (cute duck feet for heaven sakes) to UK-themed photos. It even has air balloons shaped like cute things! How am I supposed battle such wizardry??

The shop owner is Virginia Allwood, a Parisian now living in Bristol, England, who says in her Shop’s bio page that she carries her camera with her everywhere. Lucky us, because she snaps some fantastic photos and we can buy them!!

ALL PHOTOS SHOWN BELOW ARE THE SOLE PROPERTY AND ARE CREDITED TO VIRGINIA ALLWOOD OF LeShopUk.

Love this piece because it is just a simple shot and slightly off-center, this is the type of photo I would frame and hang on my wall.

Perfect timing + colourful homes + skilled photographer = great photo! This is another of my favorite photos… I really think all the photos in this shop are my favorites.

Allison’s photo was chosen to be the cover of the 2014 Visit Bristol guide!! [photo credit LeShopUk.com/Virgina Allwood]

Obviously, Virginia is brilliantly talented and by looking at her blog and reading her bio on her About page in her Etsy shop, she seems to be a hardworking and fun-loving person. I just love when I find someone with talent and an eye for taking photos at just the right moment in time. Please visit Virginia’s shop and perhaps you will find something to buy and treasure.

The photo below shows Virginia with her man —> Dan Martin, boyfriend, PR guru and as she describes it “shoulder to cry on.” Something we all need!!As stated on their blog, “Dan is an award-winning social media expert and online journalist. For over 10 years, Dan, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, has worked for some of the UK’s leading internet publishers as a senior reporter and editor.” It looks like Virginia has the quality product, tools to promote, and the personality to expand her lovely items around the world. As stated on their blog, “He has also helped several private and public sector organisations improve the way they engage with their audiences online and in 2010 was named in the top 10 most influential political bloggers on Twitter by the Independent.”

Wow, what a dynamic duo!! You can read more about them at their blog http://www.leshopuk.com/blog.

And finally, the last photo pick of the day… I think!!

I love vintage/antique cars and this photo is beautiful because it depicts the car sitting on a street that shows little indication which era this photo was taken. Obviously, Ms. Allwood is quite young and she is the photographer and her handy skills allows her a look back in time. Also, the color of the car lends a beautiful contrast to the old and historic war-era buildings in the background.

I hope you enjoyed discovering this new shop and its beauties with me. I have listed LeShopUK’s online shop, Twitter, Blog, and Facebook sites below. I hope you take the time to support this lovely woman and her creative photography!

Well, I have the wonderful Brett Torrey Haynes, Founder of IAMTHELAB to thank again for this wonderful find and my newest Handmade Artisan Spotlight. I am also doing this as part of IAMTHELAB’s Blog Blitz and in accordance with their guidelines.

(photo via IAMTHELAB)Brett Torrey Haynes, Founder

His name is Thomas Houha and he is both an architect and artist and he creates wonderful 3D models and kits that you can buy in his Etsy shop.

Here is one of Thomas Houha’s Bridge designs.

(via IAMTHELAB)Design Thomas Houha

I have to tell you that making models are a little love of mine. My dad used to make model airplanes when I was little and I have always loved to watch the process. Now I actually love to buy little kits and put them together. I have just “hearted”<3 Thomas Houha’s Etsy shop for my future shopping needs!

In his shop he even has a little drafting table, that is a must have for me. When I was looking at his models and kits I could see the architectural elements in each one. I don’t think there was anything in his shop that I would not want to buy! My poor wallet, eek!

(via IAMTHELAB)Design by Thomas Houha

Brett of IAMTHELAB did a recent article where he writes about his interview with Mr. Houha. The interview can be found here:

It’s a great look into the thoughts of Mr. Houha’s inspiration, and the fact that his early design inspiration came from Erector sets. How many of us had those in our toy chests?! He now collects them as a hobby.

He also names Leonardo DaVinci as a dream collaborator, because he was both architect and artist. He names other people he would love to work with and goes on to talk about the materials he uses in his design work. He even talks about music tastes, social media, and his future as an artist.

Handmade artistry spans so many art genres, and Thomas Houha Designs was a wonderful find. I hope you take the time to visit this beautiful website and Etsy shop and leave him some kind comments about his work. His models and kits are reasonably priced and will definitely add a beautiful and unusual design element to your space.

I stumbled across this website gem a while ago when I was on Pinterest. I was so taken with the beauty of the photography and the handmade goodness that I found on this site, that I began to pin the beautiful work of the handmade artists I found on there.

Brett offers lots of services, of which I know I need to take advantage, because I am sure I could use them to put a pin in the derrière of my little shop!

IAMTHELAB‘s siteintroduces you to something known as the “Handmade Trifecta” which consists of a great shop, a vibrant blog and social media presence. The best way to learn about it would visit here:

IAMTHELAB also has the The Hot Handmade Shop! which is where you will find items that they have curated and collected together from “some of the best makers on the planet and we know you’ll find something to love here.” They have six categories which are: (1) Baubles, (2) Craftiness, (3) Inspire, (4) Maison, (5) Print&Ink, and (6) Threads.

Here is an example from each of the IAMTHELAB‘s Hot Handmade Shop categories:

Baubles

Craftiness

Maison

Print and Ink

Threads

**Please note no items were listed in the “Inspire” category.

As you can see, the quality of the handmade items is absolutely beautiful. Each item will lead you back to the sites where you can find more of the individual artists’ works.

I can guarantee you that you will not be disappointed in this lovely site and its’ many artists. Please remember to support handmade artists this season and beyond.